Portable clothes washer



June 8, 1954 J. DOUGHERTY 2,680,367

PORTABLE CLOTHES WASHER Filed Sept. 7, 1951 J3 2? J2 Jl 23 INVENT! we 1/4/7295 fiaug err ATTD E EYS Patented June 8, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PORTABLE CLOTHES WASHER James Dougherty, New Philadelphia, Pa. Application September 7, 1951, Serial No. 245,600

2 Claims. 1

This invention relates to small washing machines of the type particularly adapted for apartment use, and in particular a washing machine formed in a cylindrical housing with a wire screen partition extended across the housing and with a motor driven fan positioned on one side of the partition with the motor extended beyond the wall of the housing and with the fan positioned to drive soapy water through the wire screen partition and through clothes positioned on the opposite side of the partition.

The purpose of this invention is to provide a small washing machine that is particularly adapted for washing nylons and other small articles of clothing wherein the articles are washed Without contacting agitators or other moving parts and also in which, after the articles are Washed, water may be drained from the machine and the agitator means or fan used for drying the articles.

Various types of small washing machines have been provided; however, in the conventional type of small washing machine either the housing is reciprocated or clothes are forced through water by an agitator or the like. Both of these types of machines are unsatisfactory for apartment house use, and with this thought in mind this invention contemplates a small washing machine formed in a cylindrical housing in which means in provided for driving water through clothes positioned in one side of the housing without the clothes coming in contact with moving parts.

Another object of the invention is to provide a small washing machine for apartment house use in which articles of clothing may be both washed and dried.

A further object of the invention is to provide a comparatively small washing machine for washing and drying small articles of clothing which is of a simple and economical construction.

With these and other objects and advantages in view the invention embodies a cylindrical housing having a motor positioned on a stand at one side, with a fan operatively connected to the motor through the wall of the housing and positioned to drive water from one side of the housing through a wire mesh screen partition and into the opposite side thereof.

Other features and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description taken in connection with the drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a vertical section through the ma.- chine taken on line l--! of Figure 2.

Figure 2 is a sectional plan through the machine taken on line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters denote corresponding parts the improved small washing machine of this invention includes a cylindrical housing l0 having a wire screen II extended through the intermediate part thereof and dividing the housing into compartments l2 and I3, and a fan l4, positioned in a baiile IS in the compartment l2 and driven by a motor is and positioned on a stand I! at one side of the housing.

The upper end of the housing [0 is provided with a continuous annular flange l8 having a lip 19 on the outer edge and a flange 20 of a cover 2| is positioned on the flange l8 and retained in position by the lip 19. The cover 2| is provided with a knob 22.

The wire screen II is mounted in a frame 23 that is secured to the inner surface of the housing l0 and the frusto-ccnical shape baflle I5 is also secured to the inner surface of the housing H3, being held in place by welding or other suitable means, and with the baflie positioned as shown, water is driven from the baffle by the fan l4 and forced through the screen I I, the water being drawn into the bafile through openings 24.

The fan [4 is carried by a shaft 25 which is connected to the motor shaft 26 by a coupling 2'! and, as shown in Figure 1, the shaft 25 is held in a bearing 28 that also provides a seal, being positioned in an opening 29 in the wall of the cylindrical housing.

In the design shown the housing It is mounted on a base 30 having a continuous flange 3| and the base extends upwardly at one side to provide the stand l1 upon which the motor 16 is mounted.

The housing is also provided with a drain plug 32 that is threaded into a nipple 33.

Current is supplied to the motor I6 through a cord 34, the extended end of which is provided with a plug 35.

With the parts formed in this manner the washer may be partly filled with Water having soap or other cleaning materials therein and with small articles of clothing placed in the compartment It the fan is rotated by the motor, driving the water through the screen partition and through the articles of clothing in the compartment.

After the clothes are washed, water is drained from the housing and the fan is operated to force air through the clothes for drying the clothes.

It will be understood that modifications may be made in the design and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A washing machine comprising a cylindrical housing, a wire mesh screen extended across the interior of the housing dividing the housing into two compartments, a positioned in one of said compartments, the said wire mesh screen being vertically positioned to one side of the center of the housing so that the compartment in which the fan is positioned is smaller than the clothes holding compartment, a frustoconical shaped baifie with openings therein positioned around the fan so that the mouth of the bafiie is adjacent the wire mesh screen, a cover on the upper end of the housing and means mounted exteriorly of the housing for driving the fan.

2. In a small washing machine, the combination which comprises a vertically positioned cylindrical housing, a vertically extending wire mesh screen extended across the interior of the housing and positioned off center thereof dividing the housing into a small compartment and a large compartment, a horizontally disposed shaft extended through the waii of the housing and into said small compartment thereof, a fan carried by the inner end of the shaft and positioned in the said small compartment, a frusto-conicai shaped baiiie having openings through the wall thereof positioned around the fan in the said small com partment, so that the mouth of the bailie is in close proximity to the screen, a cover positioned upon the upper end of the housing, a base upon which the housing is mounted, said base having a stand extended upwardly on the side of the housing in which the small compartment is positioned, and a motor mounted on the stand and operatively connected to the said horizontally disposed shaft.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,133,732 McCune Mar. 30, 1915 1,381,355 Sieoert June 14, 1921 1,409,271 Bartelt Mar. 14, 1922 1,707,083 Howcott Mar. 26, 1929 1,902,165 Hansen Mar. 21, 1933 1,929,377 Wilsey "d Oct. 3, 1933 2,105,694 Pearce Jan. 11, 1938 2,125,925 Jones Aug. 9, 1938 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 290,527 Germany Mar. 4, 1916 217,875 Great Britain Oct. 9, 1924 666,049 France Sept. 26, 1929 365,789 Great Britain Jan. 28, 1932 

